Okeydokey, 'Oklahoma!'

I love "Oklahoma!" Of the numerous bright moments in the movie and stage play, this is my favorite:



"Oklahoma!": "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top (Reprise)" (1955) via YouTube

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's transformative 1943 Broadway musical world-premiered its motion picture incarnation at the Rivoli in New York on Oct. 11, 1955.

I, however, had to wait until the 1963 re-release to see the film. I hate to enter in the middle. It took awhile to first catch up with "Alabama!" through "Ohio!"

All were surprisingly bald on show tunes.

And, to be honest, Rodgers and Hammerstein's "American Samoa!" stunk.

I had thought, erroneously, there would be roasted marshmallows and chocolate succulences between parallel graham crackers.

"Oklahoma!" made up for everything. The title song is one of my earliest memories, from around age 3. I'd hear it on television and the radio. Long before I knew what "stirring" meant, I was stirred.



"Oklahoma!": "Oklahoma!" (1955) via YouTube
And I keep coming back for s'more.

Slackjaw Dumbstruck: Criswell: 'Someone Walked Over My Grave'

I'm in the mood for above. 

Do tread on me. 

Sole music. 

Laying footsies. 

Criswell: "Someone Walked Over My Grave" via YouTube

---

Thanks to Charlie Flashbacks.

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: The Three Stooges: "We Just Dropped in to Say 'Hello'" from "Gents Without Cents" (1944) via YouTube
Via Shemp Howard on Facebook

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: Frank Sinatra: "High Hopes" via YouTube

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: "Beat Girl" (1960) Opening Credits (a k a "Wild for Kicks") - Music by John Barry via YouTube
via Jack Pendarvis

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: The New Hot 5: "Jazz For Cows" via YouTube
Thanks to Ray Tanner.

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: The Cleverlys: "Walk Like an Egyptian" via YouTube

---

Thanks to Alan Kaye and Charlotte Nixon Taylor, whom I walk like.

Too Nutty: 'My Ding-a-ling' and 'My Toot Toot'

Friend Susan mentioned on Facebook that her teenagers didn't know whether to believe their mother when she said she used to listen to the songs "My Ding-a-ling" and "(Don't Mess With) My Toot Toot" on the radio.

Yeah, kids, it happened, way back in the olden times, between beating clothes on a rock and toting parasols under Pterodactyls.

Here comes the proof.



Chuck Berry: "My Ding-a-ling" (1972) via YouTube
I posted this comment to the discussion:

I was a DJ on WIIN-97 in Atlanta in 1973-74 when MY DING-A-LING was released. We played it every 90 minutes or so, while other radio stations would not. We took some heat for doing it, too, and worried about having our FCC license pulled. I don't recall the toot toot song, although mine can be quite the symphony.

Rockin' Sidney: "My Toot Toot" (1985) via YouTube

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: The Moylan Sisters: "My Little Buckaroo" from "Toyland Casino" (1938) via YouTube

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Thanks to Frank Thompson

Big Weekend

Oh.

My.

God.

And Ed Sullivan.

Big weekend, overwhelmed by Jackie Evancho, live in concert with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.



Jackie Evancho: "Nessun Dorma" From "PBS Great Performances" (2011) via YouTube

I turned to my wife and said, "Is this a prank?"

I have never heard or seen anyone like this beautiful child.

Eleven.

She is eleven.

Ten selections. Six prolonged standing ovations. I have witnessed no artist achieve a similar response in such a setting.



Jackie Evancho: "A Time for Us," Atlanta Symphony Hall, Aug. 5, 2011 via YouTube

When I was 11, I was schlepping around, wearing wax buck teeth and impersonating Professor Julius F. Kelp.

Slackjaw Dumbstruck: The Ladybugs: 'I Saw Him Standing There'

The "Petticoat Junction" Girls as The Ladybugs: "I Saw Him Standing There" via "The Ed Sullivan Show" and YouTube
Source annotation:

Airdate March 22, 1964. The Ladybugs were Jeannine Riley, Pat Woodell and Linda Kaye Henning (from "Petticoat Junction") & Sheila James (formerly of "Dobie Gillis").

Zelda?!

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Thanks to Charlie Flashbacks.

Big Weekend

Big weekend, attending the "Sing-A-Long 'Sound of Music.'"

For special engagements, the 1965 Rodgers and Hammerstein film musical has been refurbished with the lyrics onscreen throughout. The audience is encouraged to sing aloud during the movie.

I was so into it, belting out each and every word. Well, until I was bodily ejected from the theatre.

You know,

THE CHILDREN
Charmian Carr
Nicholas Hammond
Heather Menzies
Duane Chase
Angela Cartwright
Debbie Turner
Kym Karath

and
Eleanor Parker
as "The Baroness"

is quite a mouthful.

Just Sittin' Around Still Waitin' for the Rapture

Diary Entry, May 21, 2011, 5:55 p.m.

The Rapture to begin at 6 p.m. and then stay tuned for an all-new "House," Monday on FOX. Viewer discretion is advised.

Diary Entry, May 21, 2011, 5:56 p.m.

Gonna squeeze in an oldie by Skeeter Davis.

I always liked the name Skeeter. There's no time like the present. Call me Skeeter. Heaven, I shall be a delight!

Second thought, don't. In Hell, I'll be flyswattered.



Skeeter Davis: "The End of the World" via YouTube

Diary Entry, May 21, 2011, 5:59 p.m.

The Last Scuppernong.

Diary Entry, May 21, 2011, 10:49 p.m.

Crawled out from under the electric blanket under the bed. Took a look-see. I wanna thank God for making my quarters an exact replica of our place back on Earth. This is surprising and welcoming and Heaven, as Donna and our kitties are here, also.

Wonder if there is any half-eaten, leftover exact replica Velveeta in the fridge?...

Diary Entry, May 21, 2011, 10:53 p.m.

Wife, playing Sudoku, on the couch on the Earth. She says The Rapture is a no-show.

I unsuck gut.

"Maybe it's coming AMTRAK?"

Diary Entry, May 21, 2011, 10:54 p.m.

The Ventures: "Wipe Out!" via YouTube

Thanks to Charlie Flashbacks.

Slackjaw Dumbstruck: Cha Sun Chong et al. - 'Our Kindergarten Teacher'

Well, sure. I could do this, too, if I had 10 thumbs.



Guitar Ensemble - "Our Kindergarten Teacher" by Kindergarten of Ch'ŏngam-guyŏk, Ch'ŏngjin-si, DPR Korea via YouTube and TVKim
I'm not even that nimble sitting.

Oh, but I've got the legs for it....

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: The Shirelles: "The Marmoset Song" via YouTube

Remembering Jane Russell in 2-D!

Image via Wikipedia

And, ahem, 38D-24-36. 

Bob Hope, Wikipedia reminds us, "introduced her as 'the two and only Jane Russell' and 'Culture is the ability to describe Jane Russell without moving your hands.'"

She certainly brimmed with sex appeal and enthusiasm. Looking at these clips and others, I am reminded of how sweet, lovely, comical, spunky, and talented Jane Russell could be. She was also underused by Hollywood and that is regrettable.



Jane Russell, Bob Hope & Roy Rogers: "Wing Ding" from "Son of Paleface" (1952) via YouTube


Jane Russell: "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love" from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953) via YouTube


Jane Russell: "You Know" from "Macao" (1951) via YouTube
Previously: Remembering Jane Russell in 3-D!

Slackjaw Dumbstruck: Astrud Gilberto: 'Bim Bom'

Tall and tan and young and lip-synching.

The guy in the tux walks my cummerbund.



"Astrud Gilberto: Bim Bom" (1966) via YouTube
(via PCL LinkDump)

'Cute' in the 'House'

During this week's "House M.D." episode, imagine my surprise when the grumpy doctor mentioned he had been watching Jerry Lewis' lighthearted "CinderFella" on

television. That motion picture struck me as incongruous to House's temperament, but there it was in a flashback, minutes later. We saw a bit of pantomime and listened to Count Basie and His World Renowned Band's classic "Cute" throughout the TV sequence. The original 1960 movie scene is posted below with Fella actively enjoying his radio.

Full disclosure: One of my cats is named Fella, after Lewis and this film. My love for Count Basie and swing jazz is also rooted in the following footage.



"CinderFella: Cute" via YouTube

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: "We Are Smoking in Front of the Building" from "The Bob and Tom Show" via Google Video

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: "Joi Lansing: Web of Love" via Scopitone and YouTube
Thanks to Frank Thompson.